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Friday, June 19, 2009

SHA'BA BIT ME.............!!!!!!!

Sha'ba has always been allowed more freedom to misbehave (if he wants to) than the others. Once we found out he wasn't blind & we got a little weight on him about 7 years ago, we found out he was mentally shut down. He actually came out of the shut down, & started reacting to people, although he was & still is hesitant about being close to the other donkeys. Along the path of rehabilition he started showing a little spunk which we encouraged. One thing he has done for a long time is to butt me like a goat when I come in with his feed. I dance around & we've developed a routine that works for us that gets his feed in the bucket & he thinks he's personally responsible for it getting there.

Usually I can get from the gate & to his bucket before he does. Then it's a simple matter to dump it & back away, as he marches in & starts to chow down.

This morning for some reason, he was fast or I was slow. When this clash happens he will stick his head in the bucket & you can't dump the soaked feed. So I turned the bucket I was carrying upside down in his feed bucket & just stood there. I guess he got upset because not only could he not get his head in the feed bucket, but he could smell breakfast under the thing that was keeping him from getting his head in the bucket. He turned around & bit down on my arm. Usually when an equine bites you, it's a crisis of sorts, good opportunity for broken skin, crushed tissue, blood & not a pleasant experience. Getting bit by one that has very few teeth & those are worn off to gum level is a little weird. I don't think I've ever been gummed by an equine before, complete with lots of slobber. It was kind of a slimy "yuck" moment. Yes he won, I immediately took the turned over bucket out of his feed bucket, he dived in & his little world continued to rotate as usual. And I will try to be quicker in the future, so as to not upset him.........!!!! (G)

4 comments:

Oi, I'm glad your bite wasn't worse. I understand your yuck factor.On of my duties at Heifer Ranch was feeding the camels. How many times did I get slobbered on by the tall male as I dumped his feed through the fence. But as least I avoided getting bitten by him, which is a good thing. :)

My worst one was a large standard jack clamped down on my thigh & wouldn't let go. The only way I got loose was to put an elbow in his eye as hard as I could. That was after the elbow didn't do any good on the neck & side of the face. By that time I was really interested in getting loose..........!!! (G)

GRANDVIEW, MISSOURI 1957

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About Me

My husband John, and I have a small private sanctuary for donkeys that needed a better home & for one reason or another would not be adoptable under normal circumstances. Some of our donkeys have physical or emotional problems. Some are old, many have ongoing medical problems that need daily attention. Every day with the donkeys is a learning process for me, & I would like to share these wonderful creatures with anyone that is interested.